Drones Rulemaking Committee Makes Recommendations To The FAA

TIA Leads Consensus To Keep Toy Drones From Further Regulation

April 11, 2016 | The Micro Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Rulemaking Committee submitted its consensus recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week to establish a framework for classifying and flying drones above people. The recommendations will be used as a basis for an FAA-proposed rule that should be issued this year.

During the Committee meetings, Toy Industry Association (TIA) representatives requested the Committee review pilot certification and other operator requirements within the proposed small UAS rule that may unnecessarily restrict recreational use of toy drones. TIA was supported by an overwhelming majority of Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) members.

“These proposed requirements largely pertain to commercial operations and would not make sense for toy users,” said Rebecca Mond, senior director, Federal Government Affairs. “Some of these concerns were included as recommendations in the report.”

The report requests that the FAA establish four risk categories of “micro UAS” that may fly over people. These categories are summarized in appendix B on page 18 of the report, which can be found here.   

Most “toy” drones would fit in the first category, which includes those weighing less than 0.55 lbs. The committee determined that these products are considered relatively safe to fly over people and should not have any additional operational or performance requirements. The report recommends that manufacturers label packaging with the aircraft weight or with another label to be developed by industry. Manufacturers may also declare compliance by submitting a self-declaration to the FAA.

“TIA is supportive of the FAA’s risk-based approach on UAS integration and appreciates the opportunity to participate on behalf of its members. The rulemaking committee accomplished a lot during this collaboration in a very short time frame,” noted Mond. “We are still reviewing issues that need to be addressed to ensure that any regulations employ common sense and are appropriate for the toy drone market and its operators.”

With these recommendations, the FAA is working on an expedited rulemaking timeline and has begun drafting a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) to amend the small UAS rule for micro UAS operations; hopefully this amendment will be finalized by summer.

TIA continues to participate in the regulatory process to ensure common-sense regulations are applied to toy drones. As previously reported, the FAA developed a registration system for recreational owners of small UAS weighing between 0.55 lbs. (250 g) and 55 lbs. (25 kg). Noncompliant owners could face civil and criminal penalties.